BRIDGEPORT -- It can take anywhere from three to 10 minutes and several workers to dump cold patch into a pothole and smooth it over. Then there's the amount of time needed for the patch to be firm enough to drive over.

On Wednesday, that process got a lot quicker and more environmentally friendly.

Sitting inside the Pothole Killer truck, it took a two-man team of workers 10 minutes to fill a half dozen potholes along Railroad Avenue. They were even able to roll right over one to get to the next.

The truck is the city's newest method for filling in the nasty cracks that afflicted many streets this winter.

Since last July, the city has filled roughly 13,000 potholes, nearly double the 6,900 filled in all of the previous fiscal year.

"But we get to this point when we're not even through the fiscal season, our data goes up through May as far as potholes that have been filled, and we still have a city that really needs work," Garcia said. "This will close the gap."

The truck has a hydraulic boom that blows out loose debris, fills the pothole with asphalt and then places a dry coating made from recycled tires on the patch. The repairs should last for years.

The machine fills about 150 potholes a day, three times the city crews' average.

The city will lease the vehicle from Pennsylvania-based Patch Management Inc., for $100,000 a year, or half of its annual pothole budget.

But the Pothole Killer will not replace city crews. It will instead supplement their work.

"That's just one aspect of the whole entire process when it comes to roadway repairs," Garcia said.

"We have a patch crew that is out daily. It's a four-man team that goes out with a backhoe and does substantial repairs."

The Public Facilities Department is also investing in new technology.

The city for several years has urged residents to use its BConnected service or a phone application to report potholes to the Public Facilities Department.

Now, through savings in other areas of his budget, Garcia said he has found the funds to purchase iPads for his crew so they can collect data and respond to pothole requests from the road.

"The ultimate goal is to make sure our foremen are on the road as much time as possible," he said.